Dir. John Gatins, 2005, USA, 105 mins
Cast: Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Shue, David Morse, Luis Guzman, Freddy Rodriguez
Dreamer tells the story of a trainer, Ben Crane (Russell) who saves an injured horse from certain death in order to rebuild his relationship with his estranged daughter (Fanning). Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) and Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under) provide a strong supporting cast.
Clearly, first time director John Gatins has chosen to ignore one of cinema’s cardinal rules: never work with children or animals. Horse racing movies have never been a big draw at the box office, movies about cats, dogs, dolphins, and even pigs have proven a huge success, but horses are too often relegated to ‘supporting’ roles – most notably in westerns. Hollywood’s dubious use of horses as unpaid stuntmen for countless cowboy films is something that modern cinemagoers would rather forget.
Hollywood now treats animals well, but horse racing could still be seen as something of a cruel sport. In a thrilling opening scene, the promising young thoroughbred mare Sonador breaks down mid-race, suffering a fracture to the cannon-bone (which to rest of us is a the lower section of the front leg). Injuries such as this are usually considered career ending, so in response the owner (Morse) decides that the animal should be put down. Ben Crane (Russell plays the role of a sensitive horse trainer) cannot condone this verdict, primarily because his daughter has formed an attachment to the animal. Crane decides to save the horse, but loses his job. His severance pay is limited to $6000 and ownership of the lame mare.
Despite these setbacks, the Crane family ‘dream’ of a better future, and sure enough, step by step, they rebuild their family business. This familiar storyline is somewhat contrived, and Gatins’ cliché ridden script holds few surprises for the audience. Fortunately, the cast is well chosen, with all the actors going about their work with enough conviction to hold the film together. Hollywood darling of the moment Dakota Fanning turns in a fantastic central performance as Cale Crane, whilst Kurt Russell is surprisingly solid throughout, giving depth and a sense of realism to a story that is rather far fetched. Kris Kristofferson is a truly inspired choice as grandpa Crane - for the simple reason that he does look like he could be Kurt Russell’s father. Elizabeth Shue and David Morse round off a fine ensemble, but their roles are too poorly written to offer an opportunity for either to show their true potential.
Part of the problem with sports films is that they tend to tell the same story over and over again. In this case we have the ‘battle against the odds’ story, with the smaller, poorer Crane family versus the wealthy and tall Mr Palmer (Morse) – otherwise known as the David and Goliath scenario. The problem with Sonador, is that the odds favour the underdog far too often: Every time the horse or family faces adversity, the issue is resolved within the next scene. From the outset the family are poor, but when they need $15000 for stud rights Grandpa (Kristofferson) presents them with $20000, which he has been secretly storing in a coffee tin. Presumably he was storing it for just such a rainy day – despite the fact that he lives in a shed and hasn’t had a job since 1975…
Fortunately, the horse racing scenes are suitably thrilling. Gatins and cinematographer Fred Murphy have done a fine job of capturing the thunderous drama of twelve huge beasts hurtling around a narrow track. The locations are beautifully rendered in full width ‘scope, and Kentucky looks very cinematic, complete with hanging mists and wide-open expanses of lush autumn terrain. It is easy to be taken in by this sort of old fashioned movie making, and at times I enjoyed the escapism that a simple family film can offer.
Dreamer certainly has its moments, but is it a winner? If you love horses the answer is yes. Children are likely to enjoy the ride, primarily because they will remain unaware of what is coming next, but adults have begun to expect more of this genre - Wallace and Gromit, and The Incredibles show that a family film can be clever as well as light and entertaining. The more severe critic may suggest that Sonador should be put down, but I conclude that it is something of an entertaining also-ran, if just a little bit pony.
Robb Horsley 2005
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